Vehicle.



PATENTED DEC. 11. 1906.

D. O'KEEFE. VEHICLE.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 20. 1905.

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No. 837,952. PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906. D. OKEEFE.

VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20.1905.

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UNITED STATIES PATENT OFFlOE.

DANIEL OKEEFE, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE H. HUTCHINSON, OF LAS VEGAS, TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.

VEHICLE.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

Application filed November 20, 1905. Serial No. 288,281.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, DANIEL OKEEFE, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invent ed certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention, which relates to vehicles, has for object the provision of a conveyance Whichwhile being propelled will by means of the rotary motion of its wheel or wheels create and accumulate energy which subsequently may be employed to secure and detach the draft-animal to and from the apparatus and to steer or govern it while in motion.

Further objects of my invention are to provide a vehicle to which a draft-animal may be secured or from which it may be detached by simple mechanism under control of the occupant of the conveyance and to provide means whereby the animal may be guided while in motion without the use of reins, bit, or headgear.

I attain my objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in the various views of which like parts are similarly designated, and in which Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the device in operative condition; Fig. 2, a plan view thereof, the vehicle deck and seat and the brake being omitted; Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal section taken along a line 3 3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a vertical cross-section taken along a line 4 4, Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a perspective View of the brake Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9, crosssections, enlarged, tlnough the steeringvalve, showing different positions in relation to the ports; Fig. 10, a cross-section taken along a line 10, Fig. 2, the movable parts being shown in open and closed positions;

Fig. 11, a front view of the collar employed to secure the animal, the opened position being indicated by broken lines; Fig. 12, a plan view of one of the members comprising the steering contrivance; Fig. 13, a sectional elevation taken along a line 13 13, Fig. 12; Fig. 14, a plan view of the slotted late employed in the construction shown in ig. 12; Fig. 15, an enlarged rear view of one of the clasps intended to engage the animals legs; Fig. 16, a section taken along a line 16 16, Fig. 13, looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 17, an enlarged detail view of the double cam employed in operating the harness apparatus; Fig. 18, a section, enlarged, through one of the two cylinders employed in operating the steering apparatus; and Fig. 19 a similar section taken through the cylinder intended to operate the harness-gear.

The wheel as illustrated belongs to the unicycle type, it being supported by a single centrally-located wheel 5, rotatablysecured to the frame 6, on which the vehicle-body 7 is mounted. The seat 8 is resiliently supported on the deck 9 of the body by the spiral spring 10, the lower extremity of wnich is secured to a ball 11, which, being mounted in a correspondingly-shaped socket 12, permits movement of the seat in all directions. A setscrew 13 may be employed to hold the ball at any desired point. To still further prevent communication of the arring of the vehicle to the seat, the deck 9, as well as socket 12, may be centrally divided into two equal halves.

The vehicle 5 consists of a hollow, preferably diamond-shaped, centrally-disposed chamber or reservoir 14, purported to store air, with which it is supplied while the vehicle is in motion by means of two rotary pumps 15 and 16, secured to the vehicle-body 7. The tire 17, which is spaced from and surrounds the periphery of chamber 14, is mounted around the outer one of two concentric bands 18 and 19, held together by a plurality of interposed spokes 20 and detachably secured to the central reservoir 14 by means of bolts 21. Wheel 5 is rotatably supported on the vehicle-body by means of two oppositely-disposed spherically-shaped pivots 22, the outwardly-extending projections 23 of which are rigidly secured to the under surface of frame 5. The ball-shaped extremities 22 of the spindles extend into sockets 24, the two cup-shaped halves of which are secured together by flanges 25 and, being inserted in central openings in the outer extremities of the air-chamber, are fastened thereto by means of a surrounding flange 26. Pumps 15 and 16, purported to supply chamber 14 with air during rotary movement of the wheel, are operated by means of gears 27, mounted on the common pump-shaft 28 and meshing into the annular gears 29, secured around chamber 14 at equal distances from the surrounding tire 17. The pumps, the chambers of which communicate by means of a pipe 30, force, while the vehicle is in motion, the air into the chamber 14 through a ipe or conduit 31, the upper extremity of W ich communicates with one of the pumps, while its opposite end extends through a central bore in one of the stationary spindles 22 into the air-chamber 14. A check-valve 32 prevents back pressure when the air is being com ressed.

T he air may be exhausted from the reservoir through the delivery-pipe 33, communicating therewith through a bore in the opposite spindle and leading to the valves 54 and 93, intended to operate the harnessing and steering contrivances, which will now be described.

The harness-gear, in which the draft-animal is secured, consists, primarily, of two parallel shafts 34 and 34, secured to the forward end of the vehicle-body and joined at their outer extremities by a preferably integral up and rearwardly extending yoke 35. The shafts are furthermore connected by the harness-saddle 36, located intermediate of its extremities and provided at its under surface with a pad 37, which in practice engages the back of the animal. A central bifurcated brace 38, extending rearwardly from the apex of yoke 35 and secured to the wagon-box, furthermore insures the rigidity of the harness-gear. The animal, having been placed between the shafts, is secured to the vehicle by means of a collar 39 and a pair of curved supports 40, which, being secured to the lower extremities of the saddle 36, provide a substitute for the so-called belly-band now in use. Collar 39 consists of two hames 41 vided at their inner surface with pads 44, and 41, pivoted at 42 to a lug 43, forming the apex of yoke 35. The hames are prowhich in practice engage the withers of the animal. Outwardly-curving arms 45, which form the upper extremities of the hames, extend above the fulcrum 42 through converging slots 46 in the head 47 of a rod 48, which being guided in loops 49 on the central brace 38, leads to the vehicle-body and is secured at its opposite extremity to a piston 50, which has a reciprocating movement inside a horizontal cylinder 51. When the hames, composing collar 39, are in their locked position, rod 48 and piston 50 are in the extreme forward position, being held by a spring 52, which engages the rear surface of the piston and opposite the head of the cylinder. The forward portion of the cylinder at the opposite side of the piston comiects, by means of a pipe 53, with a valve 54, the stem of which is provided with a handle within reach of the operator. The opposite port of the valve is connected with the air-reservoir 14 by a pipe 56, leading from the before-named conduit 33. The curved sup orts 40, which, having been provided wit pads 57 along their inner surface in practice, engage the belly of the animal, are simultaneous with the collar, held. in the upper or locked position by a heart-shaped cam 58, interposed between the head 47 and the opposite extremity of rod 48, and engaging the diverged upwardly-extending extremities of rods 59, which, being guided in loops 60 on the stationary saddle 36, are connected at their opposite or lower extremities to short arms 61, which extend outwardly from the upper ends of supports 40. The latter are fulcrumed at their upper ends to lugs 62, extending from the lower extremities of saddle 36, and are provided with outwardly-extending legs 63, which when the supports are in the opened position (see broken lines, Fig. 10) will engage the surface on which the vehicle stands, and thus support its forward portion and harness-gear.

Then the occupant of the seat desires to disengage the animal from the vehicle, he reverses the position of valve 54 and introduces the air passing from the chamber 14 through pipes 33, 56, and 53 into the cylinder in front of the iston, thus causing rod 48, and with it the s otted head 47 and cam 58, to move backward. This action will, as heretofore explained, cause the hames of collar 39 to open, (see broken lines, Fig. 11,) while the retraction of cam 58, permitting the extremities of rods 59 to converge, will cause supports 40 to drop and open by their own weight.

The steering device, which will now be described, contemplates a radical departure from the more or less cruel, though long-used, mode of governing a draft-animal by bit and reins. It consists of two ring-shaped clasps 64, in practice surrounding the fore thighs of the horse and under absolute control of the occupant of the vehicle, who by manipulating a hand-wheel 65 on the stem 66 of a valve 67 can move them separately or simultaneously forward or backward. The pressure thus exerted on the fore legs conveys to the animal the direction in which the operator desires it to go, or, in case the tworings be simultaneously moved backward, will naturally cause it to halt. Clasps 64 consist of two semicircular identical parts 68 and 68, pivotally mounted on the lower extremity of a normally vertical rod 69 and provided with internal pads 70, which engage the legs of the animal. The two halves 68 and 68 are held in place on the rod between nuts 71 and 72 and are respectively provided with a projection 73 and a correspondingly-shaped notch 74, which when nut 72 is screwed home lock the two halves in the closed position. (See Fig. 15.) The upper extremity of rod 69 is fastened to a horizontally-extending spring 75, the opposite end of which is secured to a slotted bar 76, in practice movably supported on the lower prong of a forked clip 77 by means of a wrist-pin 78, extending through the slot 79. Clip 77 is pivotally mounted on a lug 80, extending outwardly from a collar 81, which, encircling one of the shafts 34, may be held at any desired point by a setscrew 82. It will be observed that the arrangement thus described permits free vertical as well as lateral movement of the olasps 64, allowing them to follow the movement of the fore thighs, which they encircle when the animal is in motion.

To exert the pressure required in guiding the movements of the animal, I employ rods 83, the forward extremities of which have been provided with detachable downwardlypointed forks 84, which in practice straddle upwardly-ranging bosses on the movable bars 76. Rods 83, extending rearwardly along shafts 34, are guided in bearings 86 secured thereto and are pivotally fastened to the extremities of the long arms of levers 87, fulcrumed at 88 to the front end of the Wagon-body. The extremities of the opposite arms of the levers are connected with piston-rods 89, secured to pistons 90, which have a reciprocating movement in horizontally-disposed cylinders 91. Pistons 90 are retained in their normal or rearmost position by springs 92, which, being located around the piston-rods, engage the face of the piston and the surface of the opposite head of the cylinder. By driving the pistons forward the operator causes clasps 64 to exert pressure against the front of the animals fore thighs through instrumentality of levers 87, rods 83, and forks 84. This object may be accomplished by introducing air stored in chamber 14 through the delivery-pipes 33 into the cylinders behind the pistons, causing the latter to compress springs 92, While forcing rods 83 backward.

To guide the animal in either direction, the driver causes pressure to be exerted on but one of the legs, while to cause the animal to halt the pressure should simultaneously be applied to both the legs. The four different operations thus required to govern the animal are controlled by the before-mentioned threeway valve 67, which is mounted in a suitable housing 93. The three ports in the housing (indicated by numerals 94, 95, and 96 in Figs. 6, 7, 8, and 9) are respectively connected with the lefthand cylinder 91 by a pipe 97, to the right-hand cylinder 91 by a pipe 98, and to the air-reservoir 14 by the delivery-pipe 33. By turning the valve in its housing the ports 94 and 95 may either separately or collectively be brought in communication with port 96, or the three ports may be shut off entirely, as illustrated in the above-named figures, which show the positions of the valve during the four operations required to guide the animal. Thus when the valve is in the position shown in Fig. 6 the animal is at rest, pressure being applied against both its legs, and when turned as illustrated in Fig. 7 the left leg is held back and the animal is forced to move to the right. Fig. 8 shows the valve in the position when the animal turns to the left, while Fig. 9 illustrates the shut-off position, during which the animal is free to move forward.

To enable the harness-gear to be applied to animals of varying sizes, shafts 34 and brace 38, as well as rods 83 and 48, have been made extendible by dividing them in two parts, which may be telescoped and held by setscrews in the usual manner.

The brake 99 consists of a beam 100, bifurcated at one extremity and carrying the brake-shoe 101 at its opposite end. An in tegral upwardly-extending arm 102 is ful crumed to thevehicle-body at 103 and is provided with a foot-plate 104, by means of which the occupant of the vehicle may set the brake.

When in operative position, the bifurcated extremity of beam extends in close proximity to the haunches of the animal, so that when the latter is brought to a sudden stop it will engage the beam and by forcing it backward apply the brake to the wheel. A safety-valve 105 011 chamber 14 is applied to prevent the accumulated air from being compressed to a too high degree.

I wish it understood that although the device as shown and described is complete in itself the potential energy of the air in chamber 14 may, if so desired, be applied to other uses and that the arrangement of the reservoir and pumps may be altered to suit circumstances.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a vehicle, the combination of the vehicle-body, a reVolubly-mounted wheel supporting the same and comprising a central air-reservoir and a surrounding rim, and a pump operated from the wheel and arranged to force air into the reservoir.

2. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehiclebody, a harnessgear fixedly mounted thereon and means under control of the vehicles occupant t0 actuate the gear.

53. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheelsupported vehicle-body, a harnessgear fixed thereon, pneumatic means to actuate the gear, an air-reservoir communicating with the actuating means and a valve arranged to control the interflowing air.

4. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle, a harness-gear fixed thereon, pneumatic means to actuate the gear, an air-pump operated from a wheel of the vehicle, and a valve-controlled connection between the pump and the actuating means.

5. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle, a harness-gear fixed thereon, pneumatic means to actuate the gear, an air-reservoir, a pump operated from a wheel of the vehicle to force air into the reservoir and a valve-oontrolled connection between the reservoir and the actuating means.

6. In a vehicle the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle-body, a harness gear fixed thereon and comprising the exp ansible collar and belly supporting members, and means under control of the vehicles occupant to simultaneously actuate the members.

7. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle-body, clasping mem bers arranged to engage opposite legs of an animal secured thereto, and pneumatic means to independently reciprocate each member.

8. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle-body, clasping members arranged to engage opposite legs of an animal secured thereto, pneumatic means to reciprocate each member, an air-reservoir communicating therewith, and means to regulate the air-supply to the said actuating means.

9. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle-body, clasping mem bers arranged to engage opposite legs of an animal secured thereto, pneumatic means to reciprocate each member, an air-pump operated from a wheel of the vehicle and valve controlled connections between the pump and the pneumatic means.

10. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle-body, clasping members arranged to engage opposite legs of an animal secured thereto, pneumatic means to reciprocate each member, an air-reservoir communicating therewith, a pump operated from a wheel of the vehicle to force air into the reservoir and a valve to control the flow of air from the reservoir.

11. In a vehicle, the combination of the wheel-supported vehicle-body, reciprocating clasping members arranged to engage opposite legs of an animal secured thereto, and a means to move each member independently or both members simultaneously.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL OKEEFE.

Witnesses G. J. ROLLANDET, K. M. O. STUMP. 

